Is Louise Mensch secretly narked she isn't the Tory celebrity packing her bags for Australia? I only ask because hertweet suggesting her erstwhile colleague Nadine Dorriesshould be set the task of "finding the plot" whilst in the jungle did appear to be laced with rather more vitriol than strictly necessary.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Louise Mensch - Perhaps whilst in the Jungle Nadine could be set the task of finding the plot. &lt;a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=lostforever" target="_blank"&gt;#lostforever&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/noframe&gt;

Just like the Respect MP George Galloway before her, she will miss the parliamentary action (the EU budget vote and the Chancellor's mini-budget statement), and desert the people who voted her in, in pursuit of votes of an altogether more ephemeral sort.

George Galloway celebrates his return to the Commons six years after his cringeworthy stint in the Big Brother house.

And despite her rather unconvincing protestations that she'll use her primetime TV appearance to campaign for her pet subject of reducing the abortion limit, there's no doubt that when MPs try to become celebrities they risk undermining the public's already patchy respect for politicians still further.

Defending Dorries

But despite all the obvious problems and the predictable chorus of contempt, I've got a sneaking desire to defend the MP for Mid Bedfordshire.

In an age when politicians struggle to connect with the public, it's a brave MP who turns away the chance to reach out to millions of captive viewers. As Ms Dorries put it: "I'm doing the show because 16 million people watch it." (I think the figure's actually closer to 11.5 million but I'll let that lie).

And although I personally disagree with much of what Ms Dorries says, am I alone to celebrate a politician with a personality when so many of our 646 MPs appear to blend into the background? Dull, career politicians make the whips' job easy but do little to engage people. Look no further than the mayor of London for an object lesson in the popularity of colourful politicos who fail to toe the line.

The rebel in me rejoiced that she'd neglected to seek leave of absence with the chief whip. Because Ms Dorries - unlike some of her colleagues who sacrifice personal principle in pursuit of party advantage - has no desire to climb the greasy pole. She knows she'll never become a minister, and frankly doesn't care.